The Only Two Human Rights You Need

The Only Two Human Rights You Need

Simplify and Get Back to the Basics

Human rights continue to be difficult for some human beings to comprehend. The UN has composed a list of 30 specific human rights, which can be found on their website with a simple search. Perhaps that compiled list of detail-oriented rights is too specific, too confusing, or too long. While those who are intent on not observing human rights may never recognize any list that delineates them, it may be beneficial for the rest of society as a whole to keep it simple. Life is already complicated. Therefore, I have compiled a list of human rights that is meant to be broad in scope but also very clear in the language so that as many people as possible can read and understand them. The rights as I see them are as follows: the Right to Live and the Right of Free Will. Within each right is a subsection relevant to the topic for the sense of clear communication.

Rights are given to every human being freely the instant they are born. They cannot and should not be denied in any circumstance. 

Right #1: The Right to Live

“Every being has the right to live.”

This right involves the basic survival needs to sustain immediate life and every necessity required to be able to contribute to modern society. 

Examples of Immediate Life Necessities:

• Clean environment, clean food, clean water, clean air, clean shelter, clean clothing

Examples of Social Life Necessities:

• Safety, privacy, love, freedom, recreation, education, employment, healthcare/counseling, transportation, technology, knowledge

The biggest aspect of this Right to Live is the concept of “love.” If a being is loved, they will be afforded, without question, everything possible to fulfill this right. A being is not truly loved by society when denied even one of these rights, needs, or pleasures. 

Loved is the homeless being when given shelter, clothes, food, access to social necessities, and a position in society which gives them the ability to sustain themselves. While it may be difficult for an individual to provide for these rights for one that lacks them, it would be easier for a group of people to provide aid and help the bereft one to regain the ability to prosper for their self. When personal problems prevent one from having the motivation to provide for themselves, showing love for them manifests an additional social need of being counseled to a point of self-reliability. 

The Right of Respect

“Every being has the right to be respected.”

This right is a subsection of “love” as outlined in the Right to Live because respect is a form of love. However, I have provided space for it here because of its integral importance in social life today. When respect is not given to a human being, it becomes one of the lead escalators of emotional reactions. Respect is a large idea, and it may be so large that it can be confusing. In an effort to explain more in order to communicate clearly and to reduce the need for overcomplicating things for future reference, respect boils down to one thing: manners.

Examples of Respect:

• Politeness, gratitude, humility, patience, trust, courtesy, forgiveness

The above is all that should be necessary to detail what is meant by “manners,” but to be yet clearer in communication, I believe it is best to provide a bit more details. Respect means giving someone their own personal space (usually the width of their arm span). It means giving someone the benefit of the doubt before making assumptions. Respect is giving someone your trust automatically with every intent to be observant of their potential deceptions. It is about showing concern for others’ discomforts by not infringing upon their own rights. Respect is laying the blame on yourself first before clarifying where the real mistake was made. It is about forgiving, not forgetting, a fellow human being for the mistakes they make. Finally, respect is given without need of earning it because everyone is a human being. Respect should never be removed or restricted, even when a human being is convicted of having committed monstrous acts of violence. The criminal is still a human being and retains entitlement to their rights, for denying them places the denier on their own level: a violator of human rights. 

Right #2: The Right of Free Will

“Every being has the right to decide for themselves.”

Free will is a human being’s ability to choose for their self. It is an essential tool used to interact with reality. Combined with the Right of Free Will is the idea that the human being must also be accountable for the outcomes of their choices and decisions. Free will is a powerful tool, and as Stan Lee said in his Spider-Man comics, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

The Right to Harm

“Every being has the right to inflict harm on others but, in doing so, must respect human rights.”

This right is a subsection to the Right of Free Will, but it is detailed here because it is a massive part of free will that is difficult to talk about. Harming others is an essential parameter in our reality. Try as any human might, it may prove impossible to live an average lifetime and harm no one along the way. It is an inevitability when a human being sets the limitation of expectations on the outcome of certain events.  For example, a best friend may wish to move away from another in order to pursue a more fulfilling life for themselves, thus inadvertently causing harm to the one who expects them to stay nearby. With the amount of interactions involved with living life, such as emotional attachments, living within comfort zones, and the like, a human being entangles their self in the strings they tie around the things they care about. Losing one of those ties may be emotionally disturbing. This would be an example of a reasonable amount of due harm.

An unreasonable amount of undue harm comes from the infringement of other human being’s rights, such as torture, murder, or other such egregious acts. A human being may have the free will to participate in these horrendous acts which purposefully violate other human beings, but they also must deal with the consequences. This Right to Harm does not support the idea of inflicting egregious acts upon other beings as being socially “correct.” The idea of this right is to communicate harm healthily insofar as it is necessary to the situation. Violently violating any other’s Right to Live is never an agreeable position as far as this right is concerned.

Conclusion

The good news is that human beings can limit the amount of harm that comes to them by lowering expectations and by observing the human rights. Emotional attachments can become simple attachments alone. Enjoy the strings as they are attached, and express gratitude for when the strings are cut. Release the human nature of control, and this may become a natural thing as easy as breathing. Emotions are inevitable, and the releasing of such attachments are not meant to claim that human beings should discard emotions. Instead, releasing attachments encourages the acknowledgement of emotions and encourages the ability to see the impermanence of those emotions and their attachments. Live life knowing emotions are there and are useful, but break free when those strings turn into the chains that emotions use to bind. Growth comes from pain, and emotions can be the delivery of pain. Embrace all that comes from interacting with reality and other human beings encountered, and be thankful for those interactions however they may end. 

The One-Finned Fish

By Brandon Kelly

There was once a fish with one fin, called You, who swam in a sea, called Life. The Sea of Life was very deep. You became more and more curious about how deep. You knew that it must take a lot of effort to swim deeper because, for You, going even a few feet was tiresome. Having only one fin limited how fast and deep You could go. 

You was not alone, though. He had to think about his friends, family, and how You could survive deep in the sea all alone. In the school of fish, You's life was very comfortable. As a child, You's parents watched out for predators or fishing humans. They let nothing happen to You. Parents always warned their children about the fishing boat, called Difficulty. "When Difficulty comes sailing in, you had better come close, or they will scoop you up and eat you," they would say. 

But You always dreamed of going deeper in the Sea of Life. You didn't know how to do it, or if it was possible to do at all. One day, You was swimming with Loved Ones, and they all saw something amazing. It was a three-finned fish close to the surface of the sea.

This three-finned fish was very famous and was called They. Well, after seeing They, You became very emboldened and excited to start an adventure, but turning to look at the Loved Ones, they looked afraid. The Loved Ones said that they should all return to the surface and back to the school of fish immediately. No one wants to be separated from the group because then Difficulty may snatch them out of the water. As it was, they were already far away from safety. You was torn and didn't know what to do. 

Meanwhile, They swam by lazily, too big to be worried about Difficulty, and They's many fins helped glide through the Sea of Life with ease. That big fish didn't really seem to care about anything. They hardly noticed You at all. Regardless, You couldn't stop watching They. Inspiration, bravery, and determination each built up inside of You till bursting point, and each time You thought of the Loved Ones, those feelings deflated. You felt hopeless; the Loved Ones always talked You into going back to the school.

You did swim back to the school, but this time was different than all the other times. You thought about why the Loved Ones may not want to use effort to swim deeper in the Sea of Life. Why wouldn't the Loved Ones want to go into unknown spaces, learn new things, experience exciting details about Life? The Sea of Life is so big, perhaps even They doesn't know every inch of it. Perhaps one day, You could teach They a thing or two. 

You thought that the Loved Ones were concerned for You's safety. This was the obvious answer, the one that You thought of every time. You had a different thought that day: the Loved Ones did not want You to leave. They loved You, wanted to keep You around, and to lose You would make them very sad indeed.  You thought of You's feelings on the issue: if You stayed, then You would be the one who was sad. It seemed as though the game had no winner.

Another thought occurred to You: what if other one-finned fish had the same idea as You, but were staying with Loved Ones because they needed them? Or maybe they were themselves afraid to leave the school and if You showed bravery and courage to leave the school alone, You's actions made them feel inadequate about themselves. If You left, then You would show them strength, true passion, and bravery. When they looked inwardly, they found that they were too afraid to try going deeper in the Sea of Life themselves. It was too much effort. The one-finned fish only had one fin, after all. In a way, these two things that made the school and Loved Ones want You to stay by their side was only serving themselves in the end.

They were Self-Fish. 

A shadow moved above You. It was Difficulty, and You's Loved Ones were shouting. "Swim, You! Come with us!" Though it pained You immensely, You decided to be happy. 

You swam deeper and deeper, tumbled about by the currents They was making in passing. You flicked that little tail as fast as possible in order to get deeper. You lost balance, twirled upside down, got whacked by They's big tail fin, but You kept up the effort to achieve a deeper position in the Sea of Life. Finally, You found a position under They where the current wasn't so strong. You observed the surroundings for a while and was very keen to notice even small details. You learned how to be a fish that dove deeper. You learned by doing, by observing, and by self correcting through humility. Before You knew it, another fin started to grow on top. You became happy after all.

You realized that in Life, You really is a small thing.